One day in September, Flat Stanley decided he wanted to travel to Rome, Italy for a semester abroad. After a long flight, he finally made it to the Eternal City.
Here he learned all about the Romans and of the glory of the Ancient Roman Empire, visiting many of the ancient sites, including: the Pantheon, the Arch of Constantine, and the Colosseum (where the gladiators fought).
Flat Stanley also visited Pope Francis's home in Vatican City and walked around St. Peter's Square. While in Vatican City, he went to the Vatican museums where he admired Raphael's Renaissance paintings (The School of Athens) and Michelangelo's famous Sistine Chapel.
He even climbed to the top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica!
Flat Stanley enjoyed traveling throughout Italy to see different cities and to experience different cultures. He saw the leaning tower of Pisa,
the ruins of Pompeii (the ancient roman city destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius),
and the Greek temples of Paestum in Southern Italy.
Flat Stanley took advantage of being in Europe to visit some other countries. He traveled to Geneva, Switzerland for a weekend, where he learned some French and tried to stay warm in the cold weather.
Flat Stanley saw Jet d'Eau (big water fountain), the Flower Clock, and Lake Geneva.
Flat Stanley even contributed to world peace by going to the United Nations.
For Thanksgiving break, Flat Stanley began celebrating the holiday season early by visiting Salzburg, Austria. He loved seeing the Alps from the top of Festung Hohensalzburg. It was here where Flat Stanley came across one of Salzburg's famous Christmas markets and became friends with a unicorn reindeer.
While in Salzburg, Flat Stanley knew he had to take the amazing Sound of Music Tour! He sang along to the songs as he visited the places where scenes of this classic movie were filmed. Two of these places were the "16 Going on 17" gazebo and Mirabell Gardens.
Flat Stanley stayed in Rome for Christmas and travelled to Florence for New Year's.
He visited many churches in this Medieval and Renaissance city, such as Santa Maria Novella,
the Duomo (where he also climbed to the top),
the Baptistery of the Duomo,
and Santa Croce.
Knowing that Florence is famous for its Italian leather, Flat Stanley also spent some of his Christmas money in the open markets!
One of Flat Stanley's favorite parts of his time abroad was savoring the classic cuisines of the places he visited. Flat Stanley enjoyed carbonara in Rome,
a traditional Italian breakfast of a cappuccino and cornetto in Florence,
fresh Caprese salad on the Italian island of Capri,
delectable Neapolitan pizza in Naples,
yummy hot chocolate in Geneva,
and hot apple streusel in Salzburg.
But for Flat Stanley, the best past of his semester abroad was eating classic Italian gelato!
At the end of his four months in Europe, Flat Stanley was sad to leave, but he can't wait for his next adventure!
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